The day has finally come for the MOTH to get his knee replacement and we are READY! I’m writing this as he is in surgery, nervously awaiting the call to say all went well. There has been a very thorough pre op protocol – I think just about every facet of his body has been checked out – so I am not expecting any nasty surprises…

As we knew things were going to be rather stationary for a while post op we squeezed in a lovely trip to Tassie in February which happily coincided with my birthday. Nowadays, unless its a special decade birthday, the day seems to come and go pretty much as usual so it was nice to celebrate it. The little girls LOVE birthdays and all the joy, cake and gifts that come along with it so I felt very lauded and loved on the big day! Loz had rented a gorgeous little house in a village called Orford, about an hours drive from the CBD with a resident population of 700. It is situated where the River Prosser meets the ocean and is very pretty. The house was dreamy and, having featured twice in Country Style Magazine, was decorated beautifully with coastal country charm.

The weather was fantastic and perfect for a languid day at the beach. The girls LOVED the rockpools and have a never-ending delight in looking for little crabs and fishes lurking in the shadows. Papa was in high demand for reading duties and we enjoyed a show “performed” on a stage that the girls found in the garden! A trip to nearby Mayfield Estate was enjoyed with a bottle of bubby followed by pizzas and pinot overlooking Great Oyster Bay on the East Coast which went down a treat. I love Tassie, you never have to go very far before you stumble onto a winery, cidery, distillery or beautiful little cafe restaurant somewhere picturesque!

Back to their house in Margate and we had a lovely week together. It is a joy to walk the girls to school while they skip and pick flowers and sing along the way and then we have the day to ourselves until it’s time to collect them. We met up with our friends Paul and Sharon and had a lovely lunch down at Muirs on Victoria Dock overlooking the boats and caught up on their new life in TAS – next time we see them we may be going out on their new boat! We celebrated my birthday with a chocolate cake in the theme of a paint palette – SO creative and delicious to boot. We had a meal together in Lozzy’s garden overlooking the D’Entrecasteaux Channel with the breeze running through the trees and the sun shining – so lovely! The girls are at a great age, happily playing together for hours and Myla enjoying playing marbles with Papa every night before bed! They are great sleepers and most mornings we have to wake Myla up as she sleeps through EVERYTHING! Even opening the curtains and taking the blankets off her doesn’t wake her! On our last afternoon we attempted to go fishing down at their local park 2 minutes down the road. It is such a pretty spot, with shelters and bbqs as well as a huge playground and all surrounded by water! No luck with the fish but it was fun trying! As they were starting a big kitchen renovation the day after we left, there was a lot of unpacking of cupboards and setting the laundry up as a temporary kitchen to be done but also much excitement in the air at the prospect of a shiny brand new kitchen and appliances! I can’t wait to see it!

We got home to March and Autumn …the trees are already starting to shed their leaves and the roses and salvias are having their last hurrah before the turn of season. As the MOTH will be out of play for 6 weeks we spent a lot of time tidying the garden and getting firewood ready etc ahead of him recuperating at home on crutches. One very exciting advance is that we have hired a lovely local young couple to give us some help in the garden. Our friends in the ‘Wednesday Whackers’ use them and they came highly recommended and we can see why. They work really hard and made some huge changes in just a few hours. We are going to have them weekly until the garden is tamed and then on a fortnightly/monthly plan in winter. It has really renewed my love of the property knowing I have some extra hands to whip it into shape. They also understand plants and what they need and when – something I have neglected terribly, I have hardly ever fertilised anything other than my pots! All in all I am feeling much more positive about things and will be pleased to see it looking back to its best in a few weeks time! To top it all off we have a beautiful new front fence – the previous one was put up in 1974 and was falling apart so it was definitely time!

We flew back from Hobart and we were straight into babysitting and partying with the other side of the family as we celebrated Cooper turning 6 and Ollie turning 4. It was such a good idea to have a combined party as they share lots of friends and to hire a venue, entertainer and make the sort of magnificent cake that Liv does every year is much more viable if it is halved! For those in the know it was a Sonic the Hedgehog party with Coops being Sonic and Ollie being Shadow – his offsider! The entertainer was worth every dollar as he led the kids in games and kept them fully amused for close to two hours while the adults sweated in the 38 degree heat up on the veranda! His nylon suit was drenched within minutes and apart from taking the kids into the shade of the trees he kept his whole gig true to form despite the heat!

They spent the next few days working their way through their gifts – plenty of Lego and magnetic tiles to keep them engaged and lots for them to play together with as well – very lucky boys!

Another sort of change that has become a pet peeve of mine is everything going online. I am a fan of the wonders of the internet and can totally see how convenient it is etc but some things are just better in the flesh. I am an avid reader and am in two book clubs but I am finding it increasingly difficult AND expensive to buy an actual book. A book costs upwards of $40 nowadays and all the popular ones also have a waiting list at the library but guess where I can get it IMMEDIATELY and CHEAPLY? As an audio book or on kindle – neither of which I want! In other sad news this week my very favourite magazine Delicious (which I have bought every month since its inception in 2002) is finishing its print version to go totally online. I’m quite devastated as nothing makes me happier than seeing it arrive in my mailbox every month and then taking a few days to read it with a cuppa on my veranda, turning over the corners of things I want to try and sometimes being swayed by the look of something I would never normally attempt. A magazine does that plus I can take it on a plane or a train and I can tear out the pages and put it in my folder of things to try. Now I’m going to have to look at yet another screen to get inspiration and I can’t take it with me on holidays and unless you have a printer you can’t put it in your special folder! Not a good change as far as I’m concerned. Rant over.

I’m going to miss you!

In good news, the MOTH has come through his knee replacement op with flying colours. I cannot believe the difference that 24 hours makes and the synergy between science, surgeons and the amazing ability of the human body to accept such interference all make this a viable option for people nowadays. Apparently his knee was completely worn out and the surgeon was surprised that he’s been able to continue for as long as he has, doing what he does on it, considering what he was dealing with. All in all we are happy with the progress so far but once he gets home in a few more days the rehab begins and that’s always hard work. Worth it though to get full mobility back and something the MOTH excels at so I have faith it will be a total success as long as we can keep infections away. We’ll have to wrap him up in cotton wool a bit for a while just in case and as he gets bored very easily he’s probably going to be a painful patient but as long as I keep him plied with good food (plus the serendipitous timing that it’s footy season for his television viewing) he should be fine! He has however suggested having a bell to summon me if he needs me (only to be used for something important supposedly) so pray for me folks!

My bionic man!